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By now you’ve seen the full list of 57th GRAMMY nominees. But with 83 categories, it’s a lot of information to absorb. We’ve dissected the list to bring you factoids about this year’s nominees that are sure to make you the star attraction at your group GRAMMY viewing party. So dig in with our list of 57 Fun Facts About The 57th GRAMMY Nominees and mark your calendar for Music’s Biggest Night on Sunday, Feb. 8 from 8–11:30 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
Sam Smith is nominated for each of the « Big Four » awards — Album, Record and Song Of The Year and Best New Artist. At 22, he’s the second youngest artist ever to achieve that feat. Mariah Carey was just 20 when she was nominated for all four awards 24 years ago.
Female artists account for four of the five Record Of The Year nominees. It’s the first time in 16 years — and only the fourth time in GRAMMY history — that women have dominated the category to that degree.
« Fancy » by Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX is just the second all-female collaboration to receive a Record Of The Year nomination. The first was « The Boy Is Mine, » the 1998 smash by Brandy and Monica.
« Shake It Off » is Taylor Swift‘s third single to receive a Record Of The Year nomination. The sassy smash follows « You Belong with Me » (2009) and « We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together » (2012).
Sia‘s « Chandelier » is the year’s only work to be nominated for both Record Of The Year and Best Music Video.
Pharrell Williams is competing with himself for Album Of The Year. He’s nominated for his own album, Girl, and as a co-producer for both Beyoncé’s Beyoncé and Ed Sheeran’s X.
Beck is nominated for Album Of The Year for Morning Phase. He’s the first artist to be nominated in this category in each decade from the 1990s through the 2010s. He was previously nominated for Odelay (1996) and Midnite Vultures (2000).
Beyoncé is nominated for Album Of The Year for the second time, for Beyoncé. She was nominated five years ago for I Am… Sasha Fierce. Beyoncé has amassed 53 GRAMMY nominations, more than any other female artist.
Ed Sheeran‘s sophomore album, X, has the shortest title of any Album Of The Year finalist in GRAMMY history. The old record was held jointly by James Taylor’s JT, Peter Gabriel’s So and Adele’s 21.
Another album titled X, by Chris Brown, is nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album. Brown won the 2011 award for Best R&B Album for F.A.M.E.
Hozier, a Song Of The Year finalist for « Take Me To Church, » was born in Bray County, Wicklow, Ireland. Other Irish songwriters that have been nominated for this top GRAMMY include Gilbert O’Sullivan and U2.
Meghan Trainor‘s « All About That Bass, » which is nominated both for Record and Song Of The Year, is not the first GRAMMY-nominated song to celebrate a woman’s « bass. » Sir Mix-A-Lot’s « Baby Got Back » won for Best Rap Solo Performance for 1992.
Brandy Clark, who is nominated for Best New Artist and Best Country Album, received her first GRAMMY nomination a year ago for Best Country Song. She was a co-writer (with Shane McAnally & Kacey Musgraves) of Miranda Lambert’s hit « Mama’s Broken Heart. »
Haim, comprising sisters Este, Danielle and Alana Haim, are the first sister trio to receive a Best New Artist nomination.
Two all-female collaborations — « Fancy » by Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX and « Bang Bang » by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj — are competing for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Either would become the first all-female collabo to win in the Pop Field since « Lady Marmalade, » the 2001 smash by Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya, and Pink.
Tony Bennett is vying for his 12th award in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category. He’s nominated for Cheek To Cheek, a collaboration with Lady Gaga. Bennett is by far the most frequent winner in the category. Michael Bublé is second with four wins.
With Cheek To Cheek, Lady Gaga is vying to take best album honors in a third genre. She previously won for Best Electronic/Dance Album for The Fame (2009) and Best Pop Vocal Album for The Fame Monster (2010).
Johnny Mathis, nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Sending You A Little Christmas, received his first GRAMMY nomination in 1960, the third year of the awards. His classic rendition of « Misty » was nominated for Best Vocal Performance, Male — Single Or Track.
Miley Cyrus received her first GRAMMY nomination for Bangerz, which is a finalist for Best Pop Vocal Album. Her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, received a 1992 nomination for Best New Artist.
Coldplay, who are nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album for Ghost Stories, have previously won for Best Alternative Music Album (twice) and Best Rock Album (once).
Katy Perry is nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. This brings Perry’s career total of nominations to 13. She is looking for her first win.
Deadmau5 is nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for the third time in the past four years. The Canadian musician is nominated for his seventh studio album, While (1
Mary J. Blige is nominated for Best Dance Recording as the featured artist on Disclosure’s « F For You. » The versatile singer has won nine GRAMMYs in four distinct genres: R&B, rap, pop, and gospel.
Slipknot, nominees for Best Metal Performance for « The Negative One, » won the 2005 award in this category with « Before I Forget. »
Two tracks from a tribute album to the late Ronnie James Dio are nominated for Best Metal Performance. They are Anthrax‘s « Neon Knights » and Tenacious D‘s « The Last In Line. » Dio died in 2010.
The Black Keys, nominated for Best Rock Album for Turn Blue, won in that category two years ago with El Camino. Their album before that, Brothers, won the 2010 award for Best Alternative Music Album.
U2‘s 13th studio album, Songs Of Innocence, is nominated for Best Rock Album. All five of the band’s studio albums since 1994, when this category was introduced, have been nominated for this award. U2 have amassed 46 GRAMMY nominations, more than any other group.
Jack White, nominated for Best Alternative Music Album for his second solo album, Lazaretto, won three times in this category with the White Stripes. If he wins again this year, he’ll become the first four-time winner in the category’s history.
St. Vincent is vying to become just the second female solo artist to win for Best Alternative Music Album. Sinéad O’Connor won the first-ever award in the category for her 1990 album I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who rose to fame on « The Cosby Show, » is nominated for Best Traditional R&B Performance as a featured artist on Robert Glasper Experiment’s « Jesus Children. » (The track also features Lalah Hathaway.)
Love, Marriage & Divorce by Toni Braxton and Babyface is nominated for Best R&B Album. It’s vying to become the second collaboration to win in that category. Wake Up! by John Legend and the Roots took the 2010 award.
Robert Glasper Experiment are vying for Best R&B Album for Black Radio 2. Their initial Black Radio won the 2012 award in this category.
Two tracks from Lecrae‘s seventh studio album, Anomaly, were nominated in very different categories. « All I Need Is You » is a finalist for Best Rap Performance. « Messengers, » featuring For King & Country, is nominated for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.
With The Marshall Mathers LP 2, Eminem is vying to win Best Rap Album for the sixth time. Eminem’s five previous wins make him the category leader. Kanye West is second with four wins.
Schoolboy Q was featured on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ The Heist, which was last year’s winner for Best Rap Album. This year, the Los Angeles rapper is nominated in that category with his own album, Oxymoron.
Childish Gambino, nominated for Best Rap Album for Because The Internet, is the musical persona of actor Donald Glover, best known for his role on the TV series « Community. »
Neil Patrick Harris received his first-ever GRAMMY nomination this year. The actor and frequent awards show host is nominated for Best Musical Theater Album for Hedwig And The Angry Inch.
Keith Urban, nominated for Best Country Solo Performance for « Cop Car, » amassed four GRAMMYs for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in a six-year span (2005 through 2010).
« Meanwhile Back At Mama’s » by Tim McGraw featuring Faith Hill is nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. It’s their sixth nomination for vocal performance as a team.
The Band Perry are vying to become the third artist to win a GRAMMY for a recording of « Gentle On My Mind. » John Hartford (the song’s composer) and Glen Campbell both won 1967 GRAMMYs for recordings of the song.
Paul Epworth is vying for his second award in the category of Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical. He won three years ago, chiefly for his work on Adele’s 21. This year, his projects included Paul McCartney, Foster The People and FKA Twigs.
Swedish hit-maker Max Martin is nominated for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical for the first time. In addition, he’s nominated for both Record and Song Of The Year for his work on Taylor Swift’s « Shake It Off. »
Current nominees Beck and Jack White are among the artists who will perform at the 2015 MusiCares Person of the Year tribute gala honoring Bob Dylan on Feb. 6.
Aloe Blacc received his first career nomination for Best R&B Album for Lift Your Spirit. Blacc is among the artists who will perform at Lean On Me: A Celebration Of Music And Philanthropy, the 17th Annual GRAMMY Foundation Legacy Concert taking place Feb 5.
Taylor Swift is the lone nominee who is the subject of a current exhibit at the GRAMMY Museum. Featuring personal photographs, handwritten lyrics, tour costumes, and more, The Taylor Swift Experience is on display through May 10.
Iggy Azalea is nominated for Best Rap Album for The New Classic. Should she win, Azalea would become the first female solo artist to take home the award.
Tom Petty‘s nod for Best Rock Album for Hypnotic Eye with the Heartbreakers is his 18th career nomination. Petty won his first GRAMMY for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for 1989 for Traveling Wilburys Volume One. The Traveling Wilburys featured Petty and, among others, George Harrison, who is one of this year’s Special Merit Awards recipients.
Paramore’s Hayley Williams and Taylor York are up for Best Rock Song for the group’s « Ain’t It Fun. » This marks the second time the two musicians have received a nomination in a songwriting category. They were previously nominated for « Decode, » which was a 2009 finalist for Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media.
English rock group Bastille are among this year’s nominees for Best New Artist. They are vying to become the first English collective to take home the honor since Sade won the award for 1985.
Former President Jimmy Carter is nominated for Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling) for A Call To Action. If he takes the award, Carter will become the third former or future president with two GRAMMY wins, joining Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Carter is scheduled to present the award to Bob Dylan at the 2015 Person of the Year gala.
Gloria Gaynor‘s We Will Survive: True Stories Of Encouragement, Inspiration, And The Power Of Song is also nominated for Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling). At 35 years, Gaynor has the longest gap between nominations of any current nominee. Her last nominations were for 1979, including a win for Best Disco Recording for « I Will Survive. »
Ziggy Marley and Anoushka Shankar are nominated for Best Reggae Album and Best World Music Album, respectively. Both artists’ fathers — Bob Marley and Ravi Shankar — are GRAMMY winners and Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipients.
Kendrick Lamar‘s « I » is the lone song with a one-letter title to be nominated this year. It’s up for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.
« The Monster » by Eminem featuring Rihanna is among the nominees for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. The two stars received a 2010 nomination in this category for « Love The Way You Lie. »
« Weird Al » Yankovic and Louis C.K. each received nominations for Best Comedy Album. Each has previously won in the category: Yankovic for Poodle Hat (2003); Louis C.K. for Hilarious (2011).
With six GRAMMY wins, Carrie Underwood has the most GRAMMYs by an « American Idol » alumnus. She’s up for two more this year: Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Duo/Group Performance.
What do Arcade Fire, Tony Bennett, Glen Campbell, Alison Krauss, Barbra Streisand, Taylor Swift, and U2 have in common? Besides all being current nominees, they’ve all released albums that have won Album Of The Year honors.